The Law

Law is a body of official rules and regulations designed to govern a society, prescribed by authority or established by custom to set guidelines on public behavior and morality to maintain order and stability.

Laws define the rights of citizens to secure justice, resolve disputes in a peaceful and civilized manner, and to uphold customs and traditions within boundaries that do not infringe on the civil rights of others.

Laws serves many functions that are applied and interpreted by courts and legislatures in local, state, and federal jurisdictions. They are carried out by police departments and other enforcement agencies that are given the right and the means to uphold them.

Wrongs against individuals and the breaking of societal rules are subject to laws that define the rights of citizens and provide a means for punishing wrongdoers.

Laws protect the general public against crimes such as theft, murder, rape, prostitution, vandalism, the denial of civil rights and other rights designed for the promotion of human dignity, and the refusal of debtors to pay debts.

Others laws are written to enhance the rights of competition in business, liability for personal injury, death, and medical rights, bankruptcy, and contract resolutions.

There are tax and labor laws, rights to property ownership, rights of free speech and public gatherings, medical malpractice, social security and medical rights, foreclosure, insurance, and many other laws that promote human dignity.

• Criminal law deals with crime or an act committed in violation of a prescribed law.
• Civil law deals with the relationships between individual but not with society as a whole and usually does not involve crime.
• Administrative law deals with the regulation of matters such as commerce, utilities, communications, and civil aviation.
• Military law applies to persons who are inlisted in the field of military service.
• Maritime Law extends to claims and contracts of maritime property that do not cover criminal acts.
• International law governs how countries conduct their relationships with each other.

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